Great Vic... A bike ride. Part III

Getting there and away

Plan:

Darwin to Melbourne: 
Fly to Melbourne in a stinking fosil fuel burning airplane! Arrive very late at night. Hang out at airport for a while, put bike together then ride on to family. Spend a couple of days getting my gear together. Tubes, tools, torch, tent, that kind of stuff.

Melbourne to Albury: Catch train to Albury on Friday, enjoy a 3 or 4 hour train ride through scenic country Victoria, MAGIC! Arrive in Albury find somewhere to camp before the riders gather.

 Cycle Albury to Mansfield 4 days yeh!

Return Mansfield to Melbourne:

Catch 'organized transport' bus from Mansfield to Melbourne

Ride train or cycle Melbourne - Watsonia.

Bikes and poverty

I've been thinking a lot about bikes lately... again!
Having spent the past week crawling from bed to panadol and back to bed I am very grateful to be back on my feet (more or less) and back on my bike! What makes this even better is that just when the long-bike was about to fall apart completely my friend brought back the Avanti (The third new bike I've ever owned!) which I'd left with him about 8 months ago.... and (drum roll please assorted happy crickets and birds) The Dry Season appeared this morning as if from nowhere!

What a great day!

So, this afternoon I spent tinkering around with the kids bikes in the back yard, sipping a much longed for cup of coffee and delighting at the prospect of my eldest moving up to a larger frame. A chance encounter with a local bicycle Wizard also helped renew my enthusiasm for fixing stuff! I even dared to think about the forgotten 4 wheeled project bike I'd left squashed between the canoe and the compost bin in the darker regions of the back!

Time to clean out the bike shed and get some wheels on the road.

This evening I even managed to catch up on some of the bicycle blogs and amongst them I found this an interesting video about a bicycle project that is helping to reduce poverty.

(VIDEO REMOVED)

Check out: The Bicycle City. Trailer from Greg Sucharew on Vimeo.

Since mobility is a major issue for many people I have been inspired to try and find a solution to the two halves of a 4 wheeled bike in my back yard. Let's hope something good happens with this pile of wasted bike.
There's a lady somewhere in Darwin who has a son with mobility problems who would really love to be able to get out on a bike. I promised her she could have this one if I ever got it going.... It's killing me to think it may never get there. 

The 4 wheeled contraption which I hope to resurrect 

Visual Obstrction

Recently the NT News posted a story about a boy who had reported a palm tree that makes it nearly impossible to see oncoming traffic when crossing one of our busiest roads. I recognized the crossing instantly and agree whole heartedly with his opinion of the tree as a major hazard.
I believe he requested that the palm be removed about a week ago, so far nothing has been done. So I thought I'd get some photos of the spot to try and illustrate just how dangerous this crossing is, and how easily the problem could be avoided.

The location of the palm makes it extremely difficult for drivers and path users to see each other and could result in a fatal collision.


The riders field of vision doesn't allow them to see oncoming traffic in time

As close as I dared to get to a drivers eye view of the crossing
(Notice the bike to the right of the lane)

Here is a riders eye view

You can see the cars coming but only when they are about 5 meters from the path. Cars travel at about 80 km per hour along this road and would have not chance of stopping if a bike emerged from behind the tree.

I was able to see far enough up the road to identify oncoming traffic once my front wheel was actually on the road. (It would be a bit late by then though)

Viva la velorution (No need to excuse the French)

Did you know that in France they have begun a huge revolution in public transportation that will see 1,000's of bicycles on the streets and available for hire from just about any point in the city?
It's an amazing story. Living in Australia I sometimes wonder if the whole world is as ignorant and apathetic of environmental issues as we have become.
I am so glad to learn that No they are not. All around the world people and governments are taking action to remedy the harm we have done to our planet. Just because in my own country we are more concerned with interest rates and the value of our stock than in what we can do to improve the future for our children or prevent further degradation of our natural systems, doesn't mean the whole planet is dominated by greed and selfishness. (Is this a harsh exaggeration? Naaa!)

So anyway check the article:

Viva la velorution

(It's a bicycle revolution!)